A cowherd on the airstrip. Telegraph picture

Malda, Feb. 23: The Airports Authority of India has instructed the district administration and the chairman of the Englishbazar municipality not to allow any construction within a 20-km radius of the defunct Malda airstrip without its permission.

The directive was issued after an authority official was heckled by residents last Tuesday when he protested against the construction of a 200-m road that ran close to the aerodrome.

Work was finally brought to a halt by the police who acted on a complaint lodged by Biplab Mitra, the officer-in-charge of Malda airport.

Though the authority now wants a blanket ban on construction in the 20-km area ringing the aerodrome, it has not mentioned anything about the settlement that already exists in the restricted zone.

With permanent houses and even multi-storeyed constructions standing so close to the airstrip, it will be virtually impossible to turn the airport into a functional one, said sources.

Apart from the brick and mortar constructions, around 200 bighas of the 600-bigha airport has been leased out for farming.

Today, senior manager (aerodrome) of Calcutta airport, S. Chattopadhyay, met district magistrate Ashok Bala and handed over the letter along with the notification released by the Aeronautical Information Service of the National Airports Authority on March 24, 1989.

“The civil aviation ministry wants to resume flights from this aerodrome and a proposal of Rs 29 crore has been submitted to the Centre. We do not know what constructions have taken place within the restricted area or on the land that belongs to the ministry, but we do not want to lose any further area to encroachments,” Chattopadhyay said.

The official said the ministry could, under certain sections of the Indian Aircraft Act, 1934, issue such directives to district and civic administrations in any part of the country.

“According to the notification, the municipality can no longer sanction building plans unilaterally. It will have to obtain a no-objection certificate from the airports authority before allowing any construction within the 20-km radius of the airport,” Chattopadhyay said.